The brush heads of both manual and power toothbrushes comprise bristles which are used to clean the teeth, tongue, and cheeks. In some toothbrushes, the bristles are organized into bristle tufts contained within retention rings. The retention rings serve to secure the bristle tufts within the brush head, and often have a hollow circular shape with an interior and exterior circular circumference. During manufacture, the bristle tufts are inserted into the hollow interior of the retention ring, and the bristles in the retention ring are then secured into a brush head material which is then cooled or allowed to cool in order to form the final brush head.
Often, however, the retention rings are not firmly secured within the brush head. As a result, the ring and bristle tuft can be or become loose within the brush head, and the bristles might not always be positioned at an angle optimal for brushing. As such, under the dynamic conditions of motion induced by the power toothbrush operation, for example, the retention rings tend to separate from the brush head. Further, the process of organizing the bristles into tufts within the retention rings and then cooling the brush head material, or allowing it to cool, in order to fix the tufts in place can be time-consuming and expensive.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for methods and apparatus for permanently efficiently retaining bristle tufts within a brush head.